Gujarat HC Raises Compensation For Family Of Boy Killed In 2011 Crash To ₹5 Lakh, Applying Section 164 Retrospectively

On 28 March 2011, a truck allegedly struck and fatally injured minor Nitin Arvindbhai while he was cycling to school.

His legal heirs filed a claim under Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking Rs. 3,67,500. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Bhavnagar, awarded Rs. 1,54,500 on 10 May 2012. The claimants appealed

Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act was replaced by Section 164, which provides fixed compensation of Rs. 5,00,000 in death cases

Relying on New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Urmila Halder, 2024 JX (SC) 1154, the Court treated the amendment as a beneficial, procedural measure applicable retrospectively in the absence of a specific bar; the Supreme Court had upheld the enhancement to Rs. 5,00,000 in a pre-amendment accident claim

The claim had been brought under Section 163A, but the Court considered the Supreme Court’s ruling that the Section 164 fixed-compensation provision could benefit claimants whose accidents predated the amendment.

Applying that principle, it held that the claimants were entitled to the statutory fixed amount of Rs. 5,00,000, rather than only the Rs. 1,54,500 awarded by the Tribunal

The opponents were directed to deposit the enhanced amount and interest within nine weeks; the Tribunal was directed to disburse the amount after verification and to deduct any unpaid court fees.

The judgment’s operative paragraph describes the appeal as one filed by the insurance company and refers to a cross-objection, although the case caption identifies the legal heirs as appellants.